For what seemed like hours, Elizabeth stared at him, as the crowd chanted his name. He raised his arm in a gesture of thanks and welcome, and Elizabeth noted how well defined the muscles were in his arms and shoulders. It occurred to Elizabeth to be thankful that basketballers wear sleeveless shirts as their uniform. Will Darcy stood tall; taller than most of his teammates; but not in an awkward lanky way, or a hulking beefy way. He was simply perfectly proportioned- slender in the waist and legs, broad in the upper chest and shoulders. As cliched as it was, Elizabeth could think of no other way than to liken him to a Greek statue. As he brought his arm down, he ran his hand through his thick, jet-black hair and looked down at the court. Although he was some distance away, Elizabeth got the feeling the attention was making him uncomfortable.
All too soon, the stadium lights flickered back on. Elizabeth jolted back to reality, and felt her stomach flip flop as the players all ran towards their coach, standing not more than five feet from where she sat. From a distance, they had all looked like ordinary sized men, but in such close quarters Elizabeth was taken aback at how huge they all were- especially to her barely 5'2 self. Even the 'shortest' guys on the team were easily over six feet tall! 'If Will Darcy's one of the tallest ones, he must be at least 6'7,' she thought to herself. Will was facing the crowd, allowing Elizabeth a much closer appraisal of his face. She was not disappointed. Close up, she could see that he had very pale blue eyes, intensely focused on what the coach was saying. They contrasted strikingly with his inky black hair and pale complexion. As he spoke with his teammates, Elizabeth could see flashes of two dimples set deep in his cheeks.
Charlotte stole a look at Elizabeth, and grinned to herself. She hadn't taken her eyes off the tall power forward since he ran onto the court.
"I told you, huh?" Whispered Charlotte to Elizabeth. "We joke around that he's prince Eric from The Little Mermaid come to life. Don't you think?!"
Elizabeth had to laugh. He certainly did look like Eric personified.
A whistle sounded, and the brass band began began to play. Movement caught Elizabeth's eye and she watched as perfectly manicured cheerleaders pranced and leapt across the court. They were seemingly led by a tall, beautiful red headed girl and moved together with clockwork precision. Elizabeth was impressed. The crowd noise began to build as the players broke their huddle and sauntered casually onto the court. Charlotte had been right in her description- the place was simply buzzing.
Half the players began tugging their jerseys off, Will included. Elizabeth watched greedily as Will revealed rippling abs and a smooth taut back. 'Definite greek statue' thought Elizabeth to herself with a smile. Much too quickly, Will had turned his white jersey inside out, revealing a green side, and slipped it over his head. He tugged it down over his ripped upper body, completely unaware of the effect he'd just had on the swooning female fans.
"Does the guy have a fault?" Elizabeth muttered to herself as the green vs white game began. Apparently not, as Will scored the first points and went on to top-score. Charlotte explained the game in great detail to both Jane and Elizabeth, who listened politely but distantly. Their brains were on overload just from arriving at Pemberley, let alone assimilating information about shot clocks, fouls, free throws and travel. Luckily the game itself was little more than two ten minute halves and they were spared Charlotte's full enthusiasm for the sport.
Elizabeth watched the team stretch down after the scrimmage match, as fans began to stream out of the stadium, some going home, some piling into the function room upstairs for the after-party.
"Is that all?!" She questioned Charlotte. "I don't know much about sport, but that seemed pretty light for a training session?"
"It was." Conceded Charlotte. "It's their first training back, so they wouldn't want to go too hard. This was a watered down show suitable for the public. Their regular sessions are closed off and aren't even held in the big stadium. They have a practice gym, and goodness knows what happens there!"
"That makes sense." Said Jane. "It's a publicity stunt to get people excited about the basketball. It worked for me- I can't wait to see a game! Can we- um, are you, planning to stay for a drink? You said the players sometimes come too?" She looked hopefully at Charlotte.
Charlotte smirked. Jane was obviously just as smitten as Charlie was. Lucky girl, she thought to herself. "Yeah, I planned to stay for a drink, you guys coming?"
Elizabeth sighed. It had been a long day, and she really just wanted to sleep, but she didn't trust herself to walk back to the dorm by herself in the dark without getting lost. She was at the mercy of her two friends, who both seemed eager to attend the party. Reluctantly she agreed to go.
The players were nearing the end of their stretching down, several had already returned to the locker room. Elizabeth spied Will off to one side, stretching his calves, the tall, redheaded cheerleader talking animatedly beside him.
"Hey Charlotte," Elizabeth gestured to the couple. "looks like your Prince Eric has his very own Ariel!"
Charlotte looked over where Elizabeth had jerked her head and snorted. "In her dreams! Caroline's been after Will for the last three years. You'd think she'd get the message, if she hasn't got him by now, she's not going to! At least I have accepted as much!" The smirk on Charlotte's face slid off and a wistful look took its place. "Although I can't understand why not- she's gorgeous, isn't she?"
Elizabeth had to agree, but felt uneasy about Charlotte's declaration.
Charlotte must have read the concern on Elizabeth's face, for she gave a forced laugh and waved Elizabeth away. "It's ok, Elizabeth. I realised long ago that guys like Charlie and Will don't go for girls like me. They belong with the glamorous Caroline's and the beautiful Jane's of the world. That's the way it is- no sense living in a fantasy world."
They were brave words, but Elizabeth could tell there was a world of hurt behind them. She didn't press the subject further, but put her arm around Charlotte. "Well, that's their loss then, Charlotte- because I think you're fantastic."
Charlotte gave a genuine laugh. "You're pretty alright yourself, Elizabeth"
Jane turned back to the girls now that Charlie had gone to the locker room with Will.
"Shall we go get those drinks?" Said Charlotte. "Non-alcoholic of course, or I wouldn't be doing my job properly!" And with that the three girls climbed the stairs to the function room.
*o*o*o
Jane and Elizabeth stood awkwardly in the room with Charlotte, who was in deep discussion with friends over the state of the team this year.
"the new kid looks pretty interesting..."
"Bingley looks like he's lost weight, that can't be good..."
"geez, Darcy's shaping up even better this year..."
The conversations floated over Elizabeth's head, and she struggled to stay awake. The coke in her hand wasn't perking her up at all.
"I feel really awkward, Elizabeth." Whispered Jane. "We're the only ones here not wearing green or white, and everyone else knows about basketball!"
"I know what you mean, I feel like we're imposters, about to be discovered any minute now!" Grinned Elizabeth sleepily.
The two girls laughed, only stopped by a man clearing his throat into the microphone at the front of the room. He introduced himself as the athletic director of Pemberley, then handed the mike over to the head coach, a Mr Matlock.
"Thank you. We've been extremely lucky here at Pemberley," the coach began. "majority of our team is returning this season, with only one vacancy being made for Pat Fitzwilliam. I think you'll agree that he's already settling in well with our team and is a useful addition. Denny and Sanderson continue to improve following a solid off-season in the weight room, and we're hopeful that Hurst can stay healthy for an entire season. His injuries certainly hurt us last season. We barely limped home with that trophy!" He chuckled, and a large part of the crowd joined him. "Of course, the glue in our team is our returning seniors Bingley and Darcy. In all my years of coaching, I've never come across two guys who play so well together or who work harder both on and off the court. We've been able to build a pretty formidable team around these two guys, and I know they'll provide you all with a successful season. I could go on, but I know it's not really me you're wanting to hear from." The crowd laughed. "So without further adeiu, I hand the mike over to Charlie Bingley and Will Darcy."
The crowd clapped loudly, and Elizabeth watched fascinated as Will Darcy stepped almost gingerly towards the mike.
"Thank you, coach Matlock." he said, in a smooth, deep voice. "It helps to have such an inspiring coach." A few people tittered as the coach bowed his head in acknowledgement. "As we launch our season here tonight, we do so due to the generosity of our boosters and loyal fans. So thank you, and we hope you enjoy the season." He prsctically backed away from the microphone, leaving an expectant crowd surprised and unsatisfied at such a brief address. Charlie Bingley sprang forward, grabbing the microphone and flashing an enormous smile.
"Are you proud of Pemberley?" he asked, pointing into the crowd. "Are you?" Point. "Are you?!" Point. "Are you...?" He pointed at Jane and his eyes softened momentarily. He skipped but a beat before continuing over the cheering crowd. "Cos I'm proud of Pemberley. And Will's proud of it- though he doesn't say much-" laughter erupted at Will's expense. "And we wanna give you guys the best damn team we possibly can! But that requires spending money, and fans to cheer us on, and you good people filling this room have made that possible. So now it's just up to us to fulfil our end of the bargain! We're gonna do our God damned best- sorry for the language- to keep that trophy here! But we need you to keep supporting us. So together, let's turn Pemberley into a fortress!" He placed the microphone back in its stand to a rousing applause.
Elizabeth clapped politely, reflecting that she'd found a flaw in Will Darcy. He was an appallingly bad public speaker. He was lucky he had the evidently charismatic Charlie Bingley to bail him out. As people turned back to their drinks and conversations, Elizabeth became aware of the two guys making their way over to the group where Elizabeth and Jane stood, failing miserably to look nonchalant. It was very obvious that Will Darcy did not want to be introduced to anyone, and that Charlie was dying to.
"Will! Charlie! Hi!" exclaimed Charlotte, turning to them. "You guys are looking really good out there- should be a great season!"
"Thanks!" Beamed Charlie. "It's Carie, isn't it?"
Will Darcy remained ominously silent, looming next to Elizabeth. Standing next to him, and only reaching his chest in height, Elizabeth could fully appreciate how TALL he was.
"Charlotte, actually." Charlotte did a good job of hiding her miffed expression. "And this is Elizabeth, and Jane. They're my freshman babies!"
The comment irked Elizabeth, but Charlie didn't seem to mind. In fact, Elizabeth wasn't sure he'd even heard her. He was so thoroughly engaged in talking with Jane that nobody else got a look in. Charlotte initially tried talking to Will, who answered her small talk with monosyllable responses. He clearly was in no mood to talk. Charlotte gave up, returning to her friends. Elizabeth stood in awkward silence beside Will for a few excruciating minutes, before deciding to escape. Murmuring something about needing another coke, she excused herself. Will Darcy barely responded. Greek statue indeed, thought Elizabeth with a wry grin. Another flaw for Mr Darcy: his sub par social skills!
The drinks kiosk was quite busy by this point, and Elizabeth patiently waited a good ten minutes in line. Upon returning with her drink, she found her friends were no longer where she'd left them. Neither did she spy the tall guys, who really, stood out like sore thumbs. She sighed and made her way to the main exit, hoping Jane and Charlotte were waiting for her there. They weren't. Elizabeth spied a second smaller exit around further, and walked along the outer corridor to check if the girls were there. As she neared the exit, the door suddenly burst open and Charlie and Will strode out. Elizabeth was about to ask if they'd seen Jane and Charlotte, when she caught a glimpse of the dark scowl across Will's face. He did not look inviting, so Elizabeth quickly tucked herself away.
"Jesus Christ Will!" Exclaimed Charlie. "What the fuck was that about? That thirty second pep talk? Gotta give the people more than that!"
Will whirled around. "You know public speaking' s not my thing. I hate talking to people I don't know- especially ones as simple and narrow minded as fans!"
"geez Darcy- these people are why you don't have to pay your way through college. How bout a little respect?"
"I thank them, I high five them and sign their shirts. I pose for photos and listen to the same comments, and answer the same ridiculous questions week in and week out. I just find it so tedious having to talk with the same boring, unoriginal people all the time." Charlie shook his head. "Besides," Will snapped "how would you know what I was doing? You were too busy making eyes with the blonde girl. It's disgusting man!" Will had a slight smile on his face, which took the edge off his words, and Charlie smirked in return.
"Her name is Jane, and she seems really cool. I really like her." Elizabeth felt giddy for her friend, and couldn't wait to tell her. Then Charlie said something that turned her blood to ice. "Her friend was nice too- Ella? Eleanor maybe?"
"Elizabeth." Said Will. "Her name was Elizabeth."
Charlie got a glint in his eye. "Remembered her name eh? Made an impression, Darce?! Did you talk to her?"
Will exhaled impatiently. "What did I just tell you, Bingley? I hate talking with vapid, empty headed people."
Elizabeth reeled back at the insult. He thought her stupid and VAPID?! Who even uses that word in conversation?!
Will continued with a note of irritation in his voice. "I remember her name simply because It's a common name. No special reason. She stood next to me for two whole minutes without saying a word. Probably couldn't think of anything intelligent to say. Still, I suppose silence is better than some stupid question about how tall I am. I hate when people ask that. I hope for your sake her friend is more interesting.I assume you got her number?"
"I did. You're an ass, Darcy."
Darcy ignored the insult. "Good for you, Bing. She's a nice looking girl."
"So's her friend, which you'd know if you pulled your head out."
Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from laughing.
"Shut up, Charles. I'm not in the mood for one of your stunts."
The guys were interrupted by Charlotte's voice calling from the main entrance. Elizabeth froze in horror.
"Elizabeth! There you are! Jane and I have been looking for you everywhere! Are you ready to go?"
Both guys whirled around as Elizabeth moved out from the shadows, rendering them speechless.
"More than ready, Charlotte. I've met so many VAPID people here tonight and I'm practically falling asleep from BOREDOM!" She smiled sweetly at the two players who gaped at her.. "It was lovely meeting you both. I don't exactly follow basketball, but I wish you good luck in your season."
She turned and walked towards Charlotte, before pausing and turning back. "Hey Will?" she called out, her green eyes gleaming. "So how tall are you?" She flashed him a triumphant smile before turning back to Charlotte and walking off before he could reply, ignoring Charlotte's quizzical stare.
Elizabeth didn't look back, so she was unable to see Charlie doubled over in laughter at his friend, or Will Darcy's pale eyes following her until out of his line of sight, his face unreadable.